Will a new categorisation of hydropower plants trigger revival of the sector?
HOW DOES one quickly increase the share of renewable energy in a country’s total energy mix? Going by the government of India, it requires a simple file order. On March 6, the renewables sector accounted for 20.6 percent of India’s total energy production, but the next day, the share jumped to over 33 percent. This became possible because on March 7 the Union Cabinet brought all hydro projects of more than 25 MW capacity under the renewables category. So far, only hydropower projects of under 25 MW capacity were considered in the renewable category. This would help revive the ailing hydropower sector, states the Cabinet decision.
For a good one-and-a-half decade after Independence, hydropower was India’s main source of energy. In 1962-63, it contributed 51 percent of the country’s total energy mix, shows data on the power ministry’s website. In 2018-19, the figure stands at 13.1 percent. Ashok Khurana, director-general of the Association of Power Producers, a grouping of 27 big power sector units, says that small and large hydropower projects should be at least 35 to 40 percent of India’s energy mix for optimal load management.
The reason behind the fall of hydropower is twofold. One, hydropower plants are complex and time taking to build and, hence, costlier than conventional and other renewable projects. While the construction cost of solar power plants is R6-6.5 crore per MW, coal-based plants cost R8 crore and hydropower projects cost around R10 crore. Two, since the plants are expensive to build, the electricity they produce is costlier. A report of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission says that in 2017, discus paid 1.11 to 8.55 per kWh for purchasing hydropower from Union government-owned generation companies, while the cost of power from coal-based plants was between 1.92 and 5.69 per kWh.
This story is from the June 16, 2019 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 16, 2019 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE ALCHEMY OF EMOTIONS - SL'OTH
As with all personality traits, laziness is a combination of genes and environment
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - WRATH
Anger is an emotional programme, a part of natural selection that helps us bargain for better treatment
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - GLUTTONY
We have been captured by food and it is driving us to do something that is arguably not good for us
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - ENVY
Envy gives people a fundamental desire for a higher social rank
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS-L'UST
Love, lust, attachments are basic brain circuits. They are too primitive a system and will never change
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - GREED
Evolutionary biology sees greed as a way to increase your chances of survival
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS
I felt for the tormented whirlwinds Damned for their carnal sins Committed when they let their passions rule their reason
INVISIBLE THREAT
Significant presence of microplastics in Puducherry’s agricultural soil raises concerns for soil and crop health
Feeding off each other
VEGETARIAN MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE WEST GREW WITH MUTUAL SUPPORT AND VALIDATION
India's unhealthy patent amendments
Despite strong pleas, the Modi regime has changed the rules to impose a cost on those who challenge faulty patents